A promising student vanishes, leading to a desperate search and a shocking discovery. What truly happened to Anitra Gunn, and what secrets did her strained relationship hide? The courtroom revelations will leave you stunned, as a friend’s testimony changes everything. Don’t miss the full story of this perplexing case.
The year 2020 marked a harrowing beginning for the loved ones of Anitra Gunn, a bright 22-year-old agriculture student at Fort Valley State University, as she inexplicably vanished. Her sudden disappearance, just months before her anticipated graduation, was entirely uncharacteristic for someone known to be diligently communicative with her friends and family, immediately raising alarm bells and signaling that something was terribly wrong.
A full-scale search operation was swiftly launched, reflecting the urgent concern for Anitra’s safety. Law enforcement and her worried friends issued desperate public pleas, utilizing social media and community networks to disseminate information. A dedicated task force was assembled, and the search intensified, even extending to aerial efforts with helicopters and drones surveying vast areas, underscoring the gravity of the Anitra Gunn disappearance case.
Days into the intensive search, Anitra’s Chevrolet Cruze was discovered abandoned near her home, yet this discovery only deepened the mystery. The car bore signs of a recent collision, with its front bumper conspicuously missing, and while her wallet was found inside, her crucial mobile phone was nowhere to be seen. As four days turned into an agonizing wait, investigators began to uncover troubling details about Anitra Gunn’s personal life, hinting at potential complications.
Central to these emerging concerns was her strained relationship with Demarcus Little, a US army soldier stationed at Fort Gordon. Text messages exchanged between the couple revealed a tumultuous dynamic, with Anitra attempting to sever ties. However, Little’s manipulative threats to end his own life, explicitly blaming her for such an outcome, created an emotional bind that compelled Anitra to maintain contact, highlighting a pattern of domestic violence.
The breakthrough, grim as it was, came on February 18 when officers, guided by forensic clues from Anitra’s car like grass and sticks in the grill, located fresh tyre tracks in a secluded wooded area of Crawford County. Following these tracks led search teams to a harrowing discovery: Anitra’s body, partially concealed beneath sticks, confirming the worst fears and irrevocably transforming the missing person’s case into a murder investigation. The cause of death was determined to be strangulation.
The devastating news brought immense grief to Anitra’s family and the entire Fort Valley State University community. Her father poignantly articulated their loss on a tribute page, describing Anitra as “the ray of sunshine and the apple of our eye,” who had tragically “gained her heavenly wings.” In a somber display of collective mourning, students organized a heartfelt candlelight vigil, remembering a life cut short by senseless violence.
In March of the following year, Demarcus Little faced trial, accused of the heinous crime. The prosecution meticulously presented their case, asserting that Little had strangled Anitra on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2020, before callously abandoning her remains in the woodland. The court heard grim details of her discovery: barefoot, dressed in denim shorts and a shirt, with evidence of a struggle, including bruises that suggested she had been punched, indicating a desperate fight for survival.
Key forensic evidence, including Little’s fingerprints found in Anitra’s car and a pair of his trainers caked in mud and leaves, further implicated him. However, it was the shocking testimony of Little’s friend, Jaivon Abron, that provided the most damning revelation. Abron recounted how Little had confessed to the strangulation case, describing blacking out, hitting Anitra, grabbing her, and choking her until she succumbed after a struggle. Little’s confession also detailed the frantic drive to dump the body, during which the car’s bumper was torn off and later discarded, linking directly to the earlier discovery of the damaged car.
The prosecution painted a chilling picture of the motive: “Demarcus had poured his heart out to Anitra and she spurned him,” they stated. “She laughed. Demarcus Little then struck Anitra and choked her – choked her to death and strangled her with his hands.” After a seven-day trial and just two hours of deliberation, the jury returned a complex verdict, finding Little not guilty of malice murder but guilty of felony murder and aggravated assault, bringing a partial closure to the Demarcus Little trial, as Anitra’s family delivered powerful impact statements.
